Can Basso is a 300-year old farmhouse in Ibiza that was transformed into a comfortable, modern living space while still honoring the home's past. Francis Dimmers and Ibizan architect Angela Molina preserved the home's original style while adapting it to modern needs with plenty of green features, including rainwater collection, natural cooling and oodles of daylight.
The Ibizan farmhouse (finca) sits on a hillside facing a lush valley. “Can Basso is just minutes away from the center of Santa Eulalia and its beaches, but it feels like is being more secluded, as the surrounding countryside and neighboring mountain give the impression of the most isolated places on the island. This is an ideal place to experience a vacation surrounded by tranquility, nature and the beauty of experiencing first hand the heritage of Ibiza.”
The home is situated to take advantage of the breezes, with the front and rear doors facing north and south. The walls of the home are extremely thick to trap cool air in during the summer, and retain heat during the winter. This ancient method has been used in the area for centuries, and, according to the architect, “has proven more effective in thermic insulation than many of the modern features, in addition to savings in power consumption.”
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Much of the water consumed in the home comes from sustainable storage methods, such as rain water collection, a water cistern and the outdoor aljibe, or well. The architecture of the home was developed to take advantage of natural light, with skylights and plenty of windows – something that old farmhouses usually lack.
Throughout the space, there are many local and traditional materials, like juniper trunk beams in the ceiling, which are a characteristic feature of the traditional Ibizan finca. “The project represents a successful combination of extremes, between the old and traditional and the modern and innovative,” says the architect.
Former stables were fully renovated and converted into living spaces. According to the architect, “at first glance, it appears as a completely original finca, however, entering the rear terrace or the interior of the house a closer inspection allows us to realize that many of the walls are completely new, or that elements like the skylights, the lighting, the open kitchen and the furniture belong to an interior design with a modern character, carefully executed and with attention paid to every detail.”
Outside, the surrounding garden features native trees. The pool, designed to look like a natural pond, “is enclosed by a tidy and cared lawn, concrete framing the minimalist lines and the colorful Ibizan countryside of predominantly red soil.”
Via Kelosa
images via Greg Jouslin
